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November 2008 - What's Next?
1. Northwards in June
Way back in June, when we last had a news update, we were leaving Morocco to head back to England. Fresh from our exotic adventures in Fes, we were back on the road, this time heading North to Bradford for the Bradford Mela, a multicultural festival. We'd received a call that the Australian tent in the children's festival area was unstaffed! Could we do a children's show about Australia? We had three weeks to pull it all together and it was a lot of fun. Chaotic, but fun, (once we made it past the giant bumblebee security guard). There was poetry, there was dancing, singing and even a lagerphone - you could practically smell the gum trees. We had two days of shows and by the end had spread the good word of Waltzing Matilda throughout the North. One night of recuperation back at Jacey's and then...
2. Once More to Ireland
Over the Pennines and to Liverpool's John Lennon Airport, and then a short flight to Dublin with Ryanair (After the extortion that was their baggage charge to take a guitar on the plane to Morocco, we got lucky with Ryanair for this trip. £10 each seat meant the we could bring the cello and guitar in the cabin.) They enjoyed the trip immensely and arrived unbumped by other luggage.
In Dublin for a rainy week of fun, we were keen to play some sessions and spend time with our friend Eveanne (Alan Kelly's sister. You know Alan. Alan from the Barleyshakes).
A bus from the airport got us to the right part of town, and cups of tea soon followed. A lovely week with a couple of sessions close to Eveanne's (hi to everyone at the Blue Light) and a couple more in town. Being in Dublin also meant that we could catch up with Halley, another friend who had recently arrived from Oz looking for work and adventure.
John took this opportunity to spend much of the week in bed, fighting off the flu. Still, he managed to join us for most of the sessions. (This was the trip where John started our blog, too - possibly not a coincidence).
Nic enjoys being in Dublin!
A week wasn't long enough, and it raced by in the most relaxing way possible, and then we were off to the airport again and back to England.
3. North and South
A couple of nights at Jacey's and then we headed North to Darlington for the folk club, followed by a gig in Bedford at the Corn Exchange. Both gigs offered us a chance to catch up with old friends (especially Andy Miller and also Christine from Faeries Wear Boots). We were on the way South after Bedford with a hard turn right and the long drive to Bideford in North Devon. We had a week of workshops and gigs as part of the lead-up to the Bideford Folk Festival. A terrific bunch of kids from the local schools kept us busy, and got into some serious jumping up and down!
There was also time in Devon for a trip to the beach, and to sample the local ice-cream delicacy, the "oyster" (not to scale). Ice-cream, coconut, chocolate, biscuits, cream, watermelon, parsley and soy, mmmm (John has admitted his notes may not be accurate).
4. A Busy July on the Road
Heading North again after a fabulous time by the sea, we stopped off at Glastonbury for a wholesome lunch at the Shekinashram, before heading up the legendary Tor to St Michael's Tower. Well worth a visit. An amazingly beautiful place. Here's Bec and Nic being buffeted at the top.
The following weekend, we were hanging out in Dursley, when we discovered that there was a folk festival nearby. And these busmen needed a holiday! So off we went (only a few miles) to see friends play. The Saul Canalside Festival had everything we could have wanted: we hung out with Jarrad and Sophie, Vicki and Jonny were playing, and James and Nancy were on with Rob Harbron along on concertina (check out Kerr-Fagan-Harbron). There was even a parade of boats on the canal to round it all off. A delightful day out, then home for curry.
We alternated racing up the motorways with a few days off in the next couple of weeks. There were schools in Yorkshire, the Birdsedge Village Festival, a few days in Derby with a terrific night at the Belper Folk Club, and then we were off to the North again for Brampton Live in farthest Cumbria.
On stage at Brampton
(thanks to Terry Haworth for the photo of John and to Steve Barber for the other two great stage shots)
After Brampton, there was a night at South Shields, (with Emma Nixon of Brisbane once again on hand to join in on fiddle), we conducted a choir workshop with the amazing Sheffield Folk Chorale, and then it was back South to the Sunray club in Dorset (enough driving already!). Following this run of gigs, we had a few days off to visit the Eden Project again. When we visited the Eden Project, Bec was absolutely at home in the Tropical Biome, surrounded by the plants of Queensland. We stayed with our friend, Caroline in her beautiful house by the sea in Cornwall and were lucky to have some gorgeous weather (but the water was still freezing!!!!!). A fabulous few days, before we were off to...
5. Denmark!
Thanks to a fortuitous meeting in Yackandandah in March, we had been invited by Eskil Romme from the Danish group Faerd to come and play in Denmark. We leapt at the chance and flew into Århus at the end of July, picked up a car and drove across the Western part of Denmark, hopped on the ferry to the island of Fanø, then headed to the Southern tip and the town of Sønderho. Sønderho is the home of Peter Uhrbrand, an astonishingly accomplished musician and a lovely host. We played that night in a local cafe, where Peter and a couple of friends play local music every week, accompanying dancers who keep alive the rich musical tradition of this tiny corner of Denmark. It was amazing to see and hear this music in action (and to appal the locals with our attempts to get the dancing hold right!). You'll find a clip of Peter and co here.
Another night on Fanø saw us at a local fair, where we traded songs for a fabulous supper of ribs (there's an idea which deserves to catch on). We then bid farewell to the island, the wonderful thatched houses, the church full of carved ships and our new friends and were off cross-country again, this time to Eskil's farm, and a few more days of good food, wonderful company, checking out the local sights and and playing more music. (You'll find a bit more detail of this part of the adventure on the blog, including our sighting of a Viking longship). Our third and final gig was to a full house at Cafe Ellegaard, almost at the German border in the South.
After a joy-filled week of beginning to experience something of the Danish West, it was time to once again board the big bird and head back to our UK tour. We're definitely planning a return to Denmark.
6. Back into it
We landed, we fixed a flat tyre, we drove (there's a surprise), and that night we played at Folkestone on the Kentish coast. A lovely return to that part of England and a really nice club (Folk at the Drum). Unfortunately, we had no time to sit still. The next day was another drive, this time down to the forest in Hampshire, where Dan and Paul jumped the broom in great style. A really beautiful ceremony in the perfect setting.
We didn't stay for the end of the party, because we were were expected in Lancashire the next night for fun and games at the Alison Arms in Chorley. (John was delighted to also have another opportunity to visit the Bolton West Services, a special place for any traveller who needs to be reminded that things could be worse - STOP PRESS - it's not just John - Bolton West achieved the lowest overall ranking in the online Motorway Services survey. Check it out, especially the comments page).
After the club in Lancashire, we headed up the highway and into the night. Stopped at a trusty Travelodge and then on to Glasgow the next day. We were gigging in Stirling and it was lovely to be back there. During our short touristy walk before the gig, we stumbled across somebody else's rehearsal.
(We did think they deserved a slightly more enthusiastic response, but it did prove that you can find fabulous music in the most unlikely carparks)
After the club and a delightful time catching up with Glasgow-based friends, we left Rebecca to enjoy the wonders of Scotland while we jetted off on a holiday (yes, an actual, real-life holiday).
7. Italy
We'd decided to at long last visit some of Nicole's family in Italy and so we put aside a week and flew off to Pisa, then hopped on the bus and before we knew it, we were meeting friendly faces in the medieval walled city of Lucca. Given all the travelling we'd been doing, we thought that not going anywhere would suit us fine. We spent an absolutely magical seven days exploring on bikes, lying about and eating our body-weights in peach gelati. It was restful, exciting, beautiful and sunny all the time.
It really was the perfect way to spend a week near the end of a very long trip away from home. We were well-looked after, didn't have to go anywhere except by bicycle, and had the opportunity to just enjoy an amazing place. It also gave us a chance to try out Nicole's Italian (and John's French with slightly varied word-endings and accent - worked most of the time). We immersed ourselves in good food, good company and fabulous coffee. The week flew by, a flurry of beauty, relaxation and family. Una vacanza bellissima!
8. Scotland, Shrewsbury and Beyond
After a week in the sun, we headed back to the slightly less sunny, but equally lovely (albeit in an entirely different way) Glasgow. Bored after not driving for a week, John was straight into the car and off to Stirling again. He wasn''t playing, but one of his favourite groups, the McCalmans were playing that night. He came home late, star-struck and happy.
And then it was time to head back to Jacey's in Yorkshire, sort the gear, stack what we were leaving behind say our goodbyes and load the car. We had one final gig before it would be time to leave Bec behind to continue her adventure, while we flew back home to Australia.
Shrewsbury Folk Festival was the final performance of the tour. The festival has grown enormously since leaving its home at Bridgnorth a couple of years ago and it has become one of the largest and (certainly from our perspective) best-organised of the Engish festivals. Great venues, a terrific line-up and everything you could want to help put on a good show. We've already blogged a little about the festival, but we were over the moon to see The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain in action, along with Pete Morton and a whole heap of others. I mean, how good is a festival that can organises rainbows to fall on the toilets?
All too soon, the festival was over and it was time for us to be heading to Heathrow. We returned the borrowed cello, the hired car and the dispersed a few possessions about the countryside. Bec stayed behind in Essex, visiting family and friends, and we started the long-haul towards home.
9. Around the world
Heathrow in the early morning, and we happened to be looking out the window at the greyish dawn at the right time to see the Royal Brunei plane that would take us home landing. We knew it was time to be getting ourselves to the airport.
We waited, we sat, we walked around, we waited, we sat, we boarded, we sat, we walked around, we waited, we sat, we landed. Another stopover in Brunei, this one spent sleeping rather than exploring, then another airport, more sitting/waiting/sleeping etc, and before we knew it (things dawn on us very slowly) we were landing in Brisbane. Back home after 4 months.
10. Work to be done (already?!)
John was straight into a weekend of rehearsals after we landed, with work lined up only three days after arrival, playing concertina in an Irish music schools concert series. A lot of fun, but getting straight on the road again after the long haul home was a little trying. Concertina-bearing trooper that he is, he invested in extra loin-girders and got to it. Over the next 10 weeks, he was up and down the coast as well as flying trips to Townsville, Toowoomba and Emerald. Driving, flying and 3 gigs a day - just the change of pace he needed.
The school holidays fell in the middle of this lot, and there was a local festival that we were looking forward to, the Neurum Creek Festival. Our good mates, Angie and Keith run this small but perfectly-formed event and, though in its third year, it was our first opportunity to make it along (we'd been out of the country for the past two years). A wonderful weekend and a real home-coming. After a weekend of fun and games, we went to the beach for a few days of sun, sand. Now that felt like being home again!
After the festival, beach and a bit of a sleep, John was back into the schools gigs. In the middle of the tour, he was up in Townsville with Nic also in town visiting her parents. We made it along for a special visit to the Townsville Folk Club. Jeremy Dunlop was along for the Tulca Mor tour and joined in onstage, and one of the legendary figures of the Australian folk scene, Campbell the Swaggie, was also in attendance.
A great night, and then back on the road (sound familiar yet?)
The weeks rolled together, but, as with all things, the work eventually came to an end.
10. And Now....
Since landing back in Australia, we've found time for a house concert locally with the Goodwills, played another concert at the local Irish bar (Finbar's), we've made it along to the Noosa session a few times, John's been studying again, we've been starting to collect and write some new songs, Nic has started making a fiddle, she's resumed painting, and is the musical director for the Fire Event at Woodford Folk Festival this year, which is keeping her pretty busy. We've been loving the chance to see friends when we walk down the main street of our home town. And we had a birthday party with friends from all over the place coming up to Maleny to join in the fun.
A couple of weeks ago, some old friends from Melbourne were
visiting the area and popped in. The grown-ups chatted while John and the kids made a pirate movie. It would be wrong not to share:
So, all in all, we've been throwing ourselves into being at home, trying to remember to relax and not do too much, we've started thinking about next year's projects and tours, and we've been enjoying being in the one place for a while, with time to process all that's happened already in this busy, busy year that isn't quite over.
The next step for us is to be at home for a while, think about what is to come, enjoy the music and take the time to love the life we're fortunate enough to find ourselves leading.
As always, the journey continues. We'll keep you posted.
it past the giant bumblebee security guard). There was poetry, there was dancing, singing and even a 
